831 B
831 B
the beginning
That is, "the beginning of all things," before anything existed except God.
created
This is used here in the sense of making something out of nothing.
universe
This includes everything that God created on the earth and in the heavens, both visible and invisible things.
earth
The word "earth" refers to the whole world that people live on.
dark
It was completely dark. There was no light at all, since God had not yet created light.
empty
God had not yet created anything except for the bare earth covered by water.
nothing had been formed
There were no distinguishing features–just water covering everything.
God's Spirit
The Spirit of God, sometimes called the Holy Spirit, was present in the beginning, moving freely over the earth in order to create all that he had planned to do.